Page 67 of A Spot of Tea
His chest tightened and his guts twisted. She knew. He didn’t know how, but she did.
He took a deep breath. “There are two parts to this.”
Eliza’s expression didn’t change, her eyes slowly scanning his face, left to right, up and down. She tilted her head as if to get another angle.
He went on. “First of all, Granny offered me twenty-five dollars to scare off the kids who were trying to torment you.”
She frowned. “She never told me that.”
“Ask her.” He cracked a smile. “Well, actually, ask her for the last five dollars, because she only gave me twenty.”
“What’s the second part?”
He wanted to say it. He did. It was on the edge of his throat, but he kept biting it back, the words too harsh and acrid. “Because…I thought you’d be the best person to find the bank robber. That’s the truth.”
She kept her eyes on him, waiting for more. When he didn’t add anything, she said, “What about the bag in the tea shop?”
He scrunched his eyebrows. “What bag?”
“Don’t lie to me, Joey. Please.”
“I don’t know about a bag. The robbery bag?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if it was the robbery bag.” She paused. “But I know you were involved in it.”
He shut his eyes, the shame crashing in. “How did you figure it out?”
“Just lucky, I guess.”
Joey ran a hand through his hair. “It’s embarrassing.”
“More embarrassing than carrying a bomb into a bank?”
A drop of water hit him in the cheek. He looked up. “You’ll think I’m an idiot.”
“Try me.”
He sucked in a breath. The air cut his lungs but he held it, trying to get the first words out. “The morning of the robbery, Russell had me flying a bunch of people around. It was my second week here.
“A guy showed up. Black bag over his shoulder, cowboy hat. He had a big mustache, but I don’t remember much else. Friendly guy. Asked me for a ride back to Anacortes, saying he was supposed to pick something up for Russell.”
“He had a cowboy hat?”
Joey nodded. “I didn’t think anything of it. I really didn’t, until I saw the police sketch of the guy in the hat.”
Eliza was silent, biting the inside of her cheek. “You didn’t think to tell me this before?”
“I didn’t want…” His voice trailed off. “I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup if you offered me a million dollars. I wasn’t even sure he wasn’t one of Russell’s guys until you told me about the hat. Then I was sure.”
“And youstilldidn’t tell me?”
He dropped his shoulders. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t want you to think I was part of it.”
“Well, yeah.” She let out a breath and drew herself up. “I found the tassel in your plane.”
“Oh.” Misting rain coated his face. He squinted. “You already knew.”
She sniffed, touching her reddened nose with the back of her hand. “I didn’t know for sure. Mackenzie’s convinced you’re the robber.”
